Denying Bail
Several bills have been proposed that would amend the Washington Constitution to expand the authority of judges to deny bail to individuals accused of various crimes based on potential dangerousness. The measures have been put forward in response to the recent tragic shootings of police officers.
As an editorial in Spokane's Spokesman-Review rightly pointed out, “… this is a time to guard against overreaction based on emotion and outrage." Bail is a fundamental protection of our legal system against incarceration of individuals who have been accused but not convicted of crimes. If there is evidence that an individual is dangerous, judges already can consider this in setting bail. Rather than hastily curtail everyone's right to the presumption of innocence in response to these tragedies, we should look for systemic changes that could actually prevent their recurrence.
